The pandemic is controlled impact airlines, with Swiss International Air Lines cutting its services to the bone at its Geneva Hub, as well as cutting services out of its base of Zurich Airport.
Swiss Bombardier Airbus A220-100 departing Zurich Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The airline has reduced its already-downsized flight operations in Geneva to an absolute minimum until the end of February, given the tighter travel restrictions announced by the Swiss government, which is resulting in a further decline for air travel.
The action is being taken, as the Swiss Geneva hub primarily operations point-to-point traffic – as opposed to Zurich which operates as a hub and spoke model.
In addition, Geneva Airport lacks COVID-19 testing facilities for travellers.
Planned operations
The airline plans to operate the following routes out of Geneva:
- 13 weekly services between Geneva and Zurich (connecting to Swiss services out of Zurich).
- 7 weekly frequencies between Geneva and the Frankfurt (connecting to Lufthansa services out of Frankfurt)
This will allow the West of Switzerland to be connected to the limited global networks currently operating.
Zurich services affected too
Whilst Geneva is taking the brunt of the service change for February, services out Zurich will be impacted. Whilst services will operate to provide cargo operations, the airline will operate around 10% of its planned timetable (compared to 2019).
In Quotes
On the changes and in a commitment to its Geneva Hub, SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx said:
“Geneva is and remains an extremely important location for us,”
“And as soon as conditions permit and the demand for air travel returns, we will steadily expand our services from Geneva again, as we will from Zurich, too.”
Passenger Impact
It goes without saying there will be an impact for passengers, with the suspension of services. As such, travellers whose flight is cancelled as a result of these developments can rebook free of charge or have the price of their ticket refunded from Swiss.
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